India’s largest conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd. will hold its annual general meeting today, an affair which will be closely eyed by investors and businesses alike.
Chairman Mukesh Ambani is expected to take centre stage with his address to shareholders via video at 2 p.m. More than 30 lakh shareholders of Reliance Industries Ltd. will want the billionaire to provide clarity on the company’s plan for the year ahead.
In the past Ambani has used to the RIL AGM to make mega-announcements for his company. And this time is no different. It is expected that Ambani will make key product announcements and chart the roadmap for initiatives like e-commerce, 5G rollout and its net zero pledge.
Investors are hoping for more clarity on RIL’s plan to turn net carbon zero by 2035 and reduce dependence on its legacy oil-to-chemicals business. Also in their wish-list is more clarity on RIL’s retail ecosystem and operations of JioMart, which now is present across 200 Indian cities.
Details about Reliance Jio’s rollout of 5G services will also be watched. Investors are keen to know how Jio is collaborating with its partners like Qualcomm for the 5G rollout.
Still, one of the most crucial announcements awaited is any update on a deal with Saudi Aramco. RIL had signed an MoU with Aramco for a 20% stake in its O2C business for $15 billion. Since then, negotiations have been dragging due to Aramco’s initial public offer and the subsequent pandemic-led restrictions.
Ambani’s speech could also see the unveiling of an affordable smartphone that Jio has been developing with Google. The locally assembled Google-powered smartphone, according to Bloomberg, is set to be revealed at the AGM. However, amid supply chain snags due to the pandemic, its official debut is unlikely before August or September.
RIL’s AGM has been known to grab eyeballs across the country. Traditionally, it sees physical participation of close to 3,000 investors, besides being watched on television screens and various digital platforms. Last year, it conducted the event online amid the Covid-19 pandemic-led restrictions. The virtual AGM saw nearly 3 lakh concurrent viewers across 42 countries and 468 cities.
Track all live updates from the 44th RIL AGM here…
